The invention relates to a device for influencing the flow in the area of a pipe manifold plate of a tube bundle heat exchanger, in particular for the food and beverage industry, with an outer channel encased by an outer sheath for a heat carrier medium, with a number of inner tubes extending axially parallel to the outer sheath through the outer channel, together forming an inner channel, each supported on the end side in the pipe manifold plate, with an inlet or outlet common for all inner tubes designed in a exchanger flange and a common outlet or respectively inlet designed in a connection piece for a product with at least one displacement body influencing the flow in the inflow area of the pipe manifold plate, which is immovably fastened on a connection bend/connection armature connecting to the exchanger flange or the connection piece, arranged axially symmetrically and concentrically to the pipe manifold plate and which is made of at least two sections, which form on their connection cross-section with each other a common, largest inner outer diameter and with the displacement body, which divides the flow to the inner channel axially symmetrically, diverts it outward and thereby accelerates it in a nozzle-like narrowed annular gap cross-section, wherein the latter is formed between the displacement body and an inner contour of the exchanger flange or connection piece encasing the displacement body concentrically, and wherein the displacement body, seen in the direction of flow, subsequently forms an expanding annular gap cross-section together with the inner contour.
A device of the generic type is known from DE 10 2005 059 463 A1 B3 or WO 2007/068343 A1. The tube bundle heat exchanger in question is described in DE 94 03 913 U1. A newer state of the art in the field of the corresponding tube bundle heat exchanger, which however in principle does not differ compared to the older tube bundle heat exchanger, describes the company publication “Röhrenwärmetauscher VARITUBE®”, GEA Tuchenhagen, Liquid Processing Division, 632d-00, from the year 2000.
Due to their cross-sectional geometry, such tube bundle heat exchangers are generally better than other heat exchanger designs, such as plate heat exchangers, suitable for thermal treatment of products with high and low viscosities, of solids-containing products with entire pieces, pulps or fibers. It should nonetheless be observed here that, in the case of fibrous media, such as juices with pulp, deposits form at the inlet openings of the inner tubes of the pipe manifold plates. The treatment at relatively high temperatures favors the agglomeration of fibers and the formation of pulp. It is preferably deposited on the bars between the multiple arranged inner tubes and on the surfaces of the pipe manifold plate oriented transversally to the direction of flow and there can lead to blockages. Temporary deposits are loosened from time to time and the clumps then get into the packaging of the respective product intended for the end user, where they are undesired.
The problem described above is sufficiently solved through a device suggested in DE 10 2005 059 463 A1 or WO 2007/068343 A1 for a plurality of applications; however, this device is suitable in particular for the thermal treatment of solids-containing products with entire pieces, pulp or fibers. Moreover, through the connection of the displacement body on the connection bend or the connection armature, the center of the pipe manifold plate remains free for an active center tube of the tube bundle heat exchanger if geometrically optimal tube partitions with 7, 19, 37 and more inner tubes, which all have an active center tube, are desired. It has been shown that with the known device in the case of pipe manifold plates with more than 19 tubes an uneven distribution of the flow and thus an unevenly distributed inflow of the inner tubes arranged distributed over the inflow surface of the pipe manifold plate cannot be prevented.
A device for influencing the inflow area of a pipe manifold plate of a tube bundle heat exchanger of the type being discussed is known from DE 103 11 529 B3 or WO 2004/083761 A1, in which the displacement body is either permanently connected with the center of the pipe manifold plate or is designed as a ball and is positioned articulated mainly in the center of the pipe manifold plate. In the case of this known device in both basic embodiments, geometrically optimal tube distributions with an active center tube must be foregone from the outset and an uneven distribution of the flow and thus an unevenly distributed inflow of the inner tubes arranged distributed over the inflow surface of the pipe manifold plate can also not be prevented here in the case of pipe manifold plates with more than 19 tubes.